Sons of Italy Foundation® to Honor Italian American Leaders at May Gala in D.C.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 25, 2005 The Sons of Italy Foundation® (SIF), a premier Italian American philanthropic organization, will honor four Italian Americans who have excelled in their respective fields at the SIF's 17th annual National Education & Leadership Awards (NELA) Gala, May 26, 2005, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C.

The SIF is the philanthropic arm of the Order Sons of Italy in America® (OSIA), the nation's oldest and largest national organization for people of Italian heritage. Over the years, the SIF has contributed nearly $89 million to medical research, disaster relief, and scholarships. The NELA Gala proceeds help fund these philanthropic programs. This year's honorees are:

Dana Gioia, the chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), will receive the SIF 2005 NELA award. An internationally acclaimed poet, critic, and translator, Gioia was nominated by President George W. Bush and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate as NEA chairman in 2003. The NEA is an independent agency of the federal government that funds the arts and art education.

Karen Ignagni, president and chief executive officer of America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), will receive the SIF 2005 Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Association Management. AHIP members provide insurance to cover health care, long-term care, dental and disability to more than 200 million Americans.

Joseph Battipaglia, chief investment officer, Ryan Beck & Co., LLC, will be recognized with the SIF 2005 Special Excellence in Business Award. An expert on investment policy, Battipaglia heads Washington Crossing Advisors, an investment advisory program offered by Ryan Beck., chief investment officer, Ryan Beck & Co., LLC, will be recognized with the SIF 2005 Special Excellence in Business Award. An expert on investment policy, Battipaglia heads Washington Crossing Advisors, an investment advisory program offered by Ryan Beck.

Joseph G. Procacci, chief executive officer, Procacci Brothers Sales Corporation, will receive the OSIA/SIF 2005 Centennial Award. Like the Sons of Italy®, which was founded in 1905, the Procacci legacy began in the early 1900's when, as Italian immigrants, they sold produce from push carts. Today, Procacci Brothers Corp. supplies the supermarket industry with a full line of fresh repacked and private labeled fruits and vegetables from around the world.

Also honored at the SIF gala will be the 2005 NELA Scholarship winners. Every year the SIF scholarship program helps outstanding young Italian American men and women attend Harvard, Princeton and other top colleges and universities.

For the second time, actor Joe Mantegna returns as the evening's master of ceremonies. Mantegna can currently be seen in the weekly television series Joan of Arcadia and in the sleeper hit movie, Uncle Nino, which opened nationally earlier this month.

About 1,000 guests attend the annual NELA black tie gala, including Cabinet officers, Members of Congress, business leaders and celebrities. The 2004 NELA Gala saw the attendance of President George W. Bush and Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. It marked the first time a sitting U.S. president and a prime minister of Italy attended a major non-profit event in America together.

Established in 1905, OSIA has a network of more than 700 chapters coast to coast. OSIA works at the community, national and international levels to promote the heritage and culture of an estimated 26 million Italian Americans, the nation's fifth largest ethnic group, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. To learn more, visit OSIA on the Web at www.osia.org.